Family News New Deck Serves as Memorial To Alumna’s Love of Pine Lake

A Hawks in Flight Feature

Heather Haynes ’98 loved sharing Pine Lake’s trails and adventures with friends like Adrienna Juan Magnaye ’98.

“Heather was always up for anything,” Magnaye wrote of her fellow alumna. “She loved to explore the Pine Lake trails or tell me about the next adventure we’d embark upon.”

Haynes passed away in 2020 from a rare form of adrenal cancer, but thanks to generous donors and the hands-on help of several others, Haynes’ memory will live on at Pine Lake.

Willa Ness ’22, Pine Lake Caretaker Alexander Sader, and Alvin Sullivan ’22, a technical specialist in the Biology department, rebuilt the observation deck after Magnaye worked with Leadership Annual Giving Officer Tim Raimy ’17 to raise $3,282 for the project.

Over the summer, Ness, Sader, and Sullivan, and hauled boards and tools out to the far side of the lake. “I’ve never built a deck before,” says Sader. “It was a learning process for the three of us.”

“It boosted my confidence to learn how to use tools with the encouragement of the others,” says Ness. “It’s a great feeling to walk out there and stand on the deck and think, ‘I helped build that!’”

In addition to the deck, a meditation bench was installed to honor Haynes’ love of meditation.

A plaque was installed and the deck dedicated during True Blue weekend.

“We had at least 20 people walk out there and use the deck,” says Sullivan. “Hopefully this will become an attractive way to head over to the other side of the property.”